Ceramic Skull - White Union

Our Union series depicts the duality in which we find ourselves. It is a symbolic reminder that we must always have two heads: one in the material world, the world we sense with our bodies and mind, and the other in the world of the subconscious, the world we feel with our hearts. In the center, the peyote is a reminder of the medicine that awakens our hearts, and that we must strive to live in this awakening to unite both worlds.

The White Union is symbolic of the highest of spiritual unions, the merging of two souls, of consciousness bathed in white light.

The Wixarika of the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains in Northern Mexico believe artistic expression is an offering to the great spirits of the five sacred directions, and each creation is made in the service of prayer. This yarn painting collaboration honors the essence of this sacred endeavor, while incorporating other symbols, colors, and imagery found in Mexican art, craft, and lore. To yarn paint, the surface of the object is covered with beeswax that has been warmed and softened in the hands of the artisan. Then designs are rhythmically tapped into the surface of the wax with thread until the entire surface is covered. The rhythm becomes a meditation, which may continue for up to three days. The wax hardens as time passes. At the end of the process the piece is blessed and released.